Historians have abandoned the idea that the European Middle Ages were a dark period, sandwiched between the glory of Rome and the light of the Renaissance. Using Chris Wickham’s Medieval Europe as our guide, this SDG will discover an exciting period, not just as a precursor to the modern age but in its own right. We will not limit ourselves to western and central Europe; we will include eastern Europe, Byzantium (the eastern Roman Empire), western Asia, and northern Africa, for they too are part of the story.
The medieval period (or the Middle Ages) is generally considered to be approximately from 500 to 1500, beginning with the fall of the western Roman Empire. Our goal is not to have a detailed study of the history of the period, but instead to focus on key moments of change across time and place, while exploring the structural developments that tie these moments together. We will progress chronologically and thematically; what this means is that we will focus on moments of change such as the crisis faced by the eastern Roman Empire when it first confronted Islam in the 7th century, or the rise of the Carolingian empire in the 9th century, or the radical decentralization of political power in the west in the 11th century, while not overlooking structural developments such as the financing of wars or the impact of using writing in political culture.
Join us to discover why “the Dark Ages” does not describe the European Middle Ages.
If accepted, this SDG will be jointly coordinated by Fred McLane and Alice Lewis.
Chris Wickham, Medieval Europe, 2016.